Mr. Speaker, my question is for the Minister of State for the Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario.

On Monday the government announced $10 million in funding to eastern Ontario through the eastern Ontario development fund. It appears there is some confusion among members of the opposition as to how this fund works.

Could the minister of state set the record straight on this announcement and tell the House how the funding will benefit the citizens of eastern rural Ontario?

Joe ComuzziMinister of State (Federal Economic Development Initiative for Northern Ontario)

Mr. Speaker, about a year ago we met with community leaders from eastern Ontario. They were very concerned about the layoffs in the high tech industry, the absence of working capital for small economic enterprises, and the layoffs in the manufacturing sector.

After the work of many committee members, the announcement made on Monday was for a $10 million program to be dedicated exclusively to eastern Ontario.

If I can clear this up once and for all, the program will be administered by FedNor and there is no--

Mr. Speaker, Canadians want their government to ensure that elderly Canadians live their lives with dignity by providing them a pension that is compassionate and fair.

An access to information request revealed that the Prime Minister considered increasing to 67 years the age at which seniors could start receiving their pensions. What hypocrisy. The Prime Minister tries to sell himself as a defender of social programs and yet he keeps his real agenda hidden.

Last night I had a teleconference with members of my farm council back in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock. Even over the phone I could hear the growing desperation in many of their voices. The border is not opened. The CAIS cheques have not arrived. Farmers are losing hope they will see any assistance before it is too late.

My farmers are watching question period today. They are waiting to hear the Prime Minister's answer. What is the Prime Minister going to do to ensure that my farmers can survive at least until Christmas?

Mr. Speaker, certainly in the short term to ensure that there is liquidity, there are a number of sources of revenue that are going to beef producers. First of all, the CAIS payments in respect to 2003 are being made. Advances for 2004 are being made. The last of the payments under the TISP have been made in the last couple of weeks and a special cash advance for beef producers is being put in place.

To date, under CAIS, some $275 million has been disbursed this year and additional moneys will be disbursed. In addition to that, as I mentioned earlier, the September 10 announcement dealing with the long term stability and profitability of the industry is putting in--

Mr. Speaker, Soraida Sabbah, who is a Palestinian citizen, has been invited to attend the Arab World Festival for a presentation of the documentary film in which she is not just an extra, but the main character. The event will be held in Montreal on the weekend. However, the Canadian Embassy in Tel Aviv still has not issued her a visitor's visa.

Since there is only one day left before the event to which Ms. Sabbah was invited, is the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration planning to take the necessary measures to issue the visa as quickly as possible?

Hedy FryParliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration

Mr. Speaker, we cannot comment on individual cases. I know that the minister has always intervened to ensure that those who should be coming to Canada in order to do important work like this will be able to do so. However, we cannot comment on this particular case.

Mr. Speaker, the Speech from the Throne challenges the government's environmental performance and commits it to systematically integrating sustainable development into the government decision making process. The Speech from the Throne also commits the federal government to inform the Canadian public better.

Can the Minister of the Environment explain how he intends to meet these commitments?

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is absolutely right to mention how the Speech from the Throne commits the government to keep the environment central to its decisions.

Allow me to read out the long list of measures. Stop me when I run out of time. The list is so long I will not have enough time.

The government is committed to using a significant amount of the money it received from the sale of PetroCanada to market environmental technologies. The government will consolidate its environmental assessments to make them more efficient. It will make its procurement policy much greener. It will defend the ecological integrity of its parks. The government—

Mr. Speaker, it has been 18 months since the announcement of a France-Quebec economic mission to Mexico. Quebec entrepreneurs have already bought the 100 seats available. This event is less than three weeks away, but Ottawa has yet to give its agreement so that Jean Charest can meet with Vicente Fox.

Considering that the government was very quick to authorize a meeting between Ralph Klein and President Fox, two years ago, how does the Minister of Foreign Affairs explain that, when it comes to Quebec, things get extremely complicated?